[5] Hêgoumenoi: the participle practically does the work of an imperative. See Rom. xii. for a striking chain of examples of this powerful and intelligible idiom.
[6] Hekastoi, not hekastos, should probably be read in the first clause here, and certainly in the second. By Greek idiom, the plural gives the thought of a collective unity under "each."
[7] The Greek gives no verb. I have written "was, and is," in the paraphrase, because the limitation of the reference of our blessed Lord's phronêma to the pre-incarnate past is not expressed in the Greek.
[8] En morphê: morphê is imperfectly represented by our common use of the word "form," which stands often even in contrast to "reality." Morphê is reality in manifestation.
[9] Uparchôn: R.V. margin, "originally being." The word lends itself to such a reference, but not so invariably as to allow us to press it here.
[10] Arpagmon: the word is extremely rare, found here only in the Greek Scriptures, and once only in secular Greek. Strictly, by form (-mon), it should mean, "a process of plunder" rather than "an object of plunder" (-ma). But parallel cases forbid us to press this. The A.V. rendering here suggests the thought that our Lord "thought it no usurpation to be equal with God, and yet made Himself void," etc. But surely the thought is rather, "and so made Himself void." So sure was His claim that, so to speak, with a sublime un-anxiety, while with an infinite sacrifice, He made Himself void.
[11] Isa Theô: the neuter plural calls attention rather to the Characteristics than to the Personality.—Through this whole passage we cannot too distinctly remember that it occurs in the Scriptures, and in the writings of one who was trained in the strictest school of Pharisaic Monotheism. St Paul was not the man to use such terms of his Saviour and Master had he not seen in Him nothing less than the very "Fellow of JEHOVAH" (Zech. xiii. 7).
[12] Eauton ekeôse: Heauton is slightly emphatic by position; I attempt to convey this by the words "by His own act."
[13] See further below, pp. 98, etc. [Transcriber's note: page 98 is indicated in this text with "{98}".]
[14] Labôn: the aorist participle, in Greek idiom, unites itself closely in thought with the aorist verb ekenôse just previous. The resulting idea is not "He made Himself void, and then took," but "He made Himself void by taking." The "Exinanition" was, in fact, just this—the taking the form of the doulos: neither less nor more.